Since 2015, Professor David Roberts has worked alongside Toronto’s Moss Park community to navigate the complexities of urban redevelopment. What began as a critique of the failed More Moss Park public-private partnership evolved into a long-term commitment to the Moss Park Coalition. 

The Coalition works to ensure that the neighbourhood’s evolution – including the arrival in 2031 of the Ontario Line subway – prioritizes the needs of current residents over speculative property investment. By centring community voices, the coalition aims to transform transit-led development from a driver of displacement into an opportunity for localized social and economic growth. 

Further reading:

David J. Roberts & John Paul Catungal (2018), Neoliberalizing Social Justice in Infrastructure Revitalization Planning: Analyzing Toronto's More Moss Park Project in Its Early Stages, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 108:2, 454-462

Keisha St. Louis-McBurnie, Nikki Mary Pagaling & David J. Roberts (2021), The work of crisis framing: Claims of social justice obscuring a history and, likely future, of uneven investment in Moss Park, Toronto, Journal of Urban Affairs

Community voices on the transformation of Moss Park, City Research Insight, Volume 5, Issue 2, School of Cities, 2025